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[TechRadar] Xbox Series S is now a real threat to PS5

pasterpl

Member
Whether you’re a fan of exclusives or not, there’s no doubt that they’re still the best way to sell consoles and entice gamers to change their allegiance to a piece of plastic. And with Bethesda games now on Xbox and PC moving forward, PlayStation owners suddenly have to deal with the prospect of games and series that they might have been excited for no longer being available. And that, in itself, is a far greater pull than Microsoft releasing another Forza Motorsport or Gears game.

Now, I’m not saying that people will start trading in their PS5 consoles en masse, but what the Xbox Series S could become is the perfect companion console to Sony’s machine. Much like how in every Xbox 360 and PS3 household you’d often find a Wii, the Xbox Series S has the potential to reach an audience that simply wouldn’t pay $499 / £449 / AU$749 for a box that does practically the same thing as the PS5 they already own.
I’ve seen a number of people picking up an Xbox Series S to act their “Bethesda box”, which is testament to how beloved series like Fallout, Skyrim, Doom, Wolfenstein and The Evil Within are. And when they also know that they’re getting all of Microsoft’s first-party output, big third-party games like Outriders and more as part of their subscription, it’s hardly surprising that Xbox Series S has entered the equation.

The console suddenly isn’t just a cheap entry point into next-gen and the Xbox ecosystem: it’s an avenue for PlayStation (and potentially Nintendo Switch) fans to ensure they can still play Bethesda’s upcoming games without making another sizable investment. As a consequence, they’ll also be exposed to countless Xbox games that they may have ignored, and the incredible value proposition that is Xbox Game Pass.

That should worry Sony – not because they’re likely to lose out on the sale of a PS5, but because the prospect of paying $70 / £70 for a game when compared to $10 / £8 a month is a hard one to justify. It’ll also attract more people to the already 18 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers that Microsoft is so keen to build as opposed to shifting Xbox Series X consoles.

Perhaps this was Microsoft’s plan all along?

thats going to be one, interesting discussion
 
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martino

Member
tumblr_n8e6viYxK91qgr036o3_250.gifv
 

Kuranghi

Member
Nothing to do with XSS but if I do want to play any future Bethesda games I'll just get GP on my PC for that month and then cancel it as soon as I'm done with the game, it will only make me less attached to the games/brands going forward I think, because I will know the save will be effectively gone afterwards. So they'll be getting <current GP price> out of me instead of the full price of the game, but its all about the number of subs rather than the margin now I'm told.

It might make me not stress over 100% completition though so thats probably good for my enjoyment in general.
 
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martino

Member
The console itself isn't, but really any device with Gamepass can be perceived as a threat to the PS5. With that being said the PS5 will be fine.
IMO this will get them an unknown number of a new audience.
Looking at it from any perspective i can't see how this is threat for PS.
 

Woopah

Member
What a nothing article, the argument is basically "Bethesda games on GamePass is good for Xbox". Now while its definitely a bonus, I don't think it's going to have a significant effect on the sales of either Xbox or PlayStation. If/when new Bethesda games come exclusively to Xbox platforms, that will be the day when the Zenimax acquisition starts impacting Sony.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
This article is kind of funny (I hope it is intentional).

But from Sony's perspective (and any other console manufacturer for that matter) any secondary device that a user is gaming on is a threat to your revenue stream. Even if it is something as simple as the competitor had a better sale on game X than you did so buyer ABC bought the software for that platform instead. In this example especially, the user with the secondary XSS system might get GP and once they have that they probably won't buy any of the software (or the MTX or DLC that goes with it) included in GP from the PS store. They may also start diverting some of their time to this secondary platform, which acts a natural limiter on the time they are spending on the primary platform (and the money they are spending there).
 
In my country, the PS5 DE is like $70 more. Series S isn't worth it at all, IMO.

I believe that gamepass will give more value to the XSS than the hardware itself. Hardware wise it's a terrible value compared to the PS5 DE but when you add something like gamepass the narrative changes.

Although that SSD is pretty tiny so many people will probably upgrade later on. Which brings it past the PS5 DE and puts it on par with the XSX in terms of price.

But some people might not need to upgrade if they are fine with deleting the content on a regular basis.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
One thing which I am struggling with, while reading....how is it threat to PS5, when it's great complimentary GamePass device? What is this??
 

Caio

Member
PC + Switch is the only combo anyone ever needs

PC for the multiplat, but for the exclusive games is a different story, and Switch is not better than PS5, they are so different that you cannot even compare; furthermore, not every Playstation exclusive is coming to PC, and the ones going to PC arrive years later, not exactly the same thing...
My combo will be PS5 + XSX(by Jun), the beefy PC will come later on.
 

FritzJ92

Member
One thing which I am struggling with, while reading....how is it threat to PS5, when it's great complimentary GamePass device? What is this??
I'm assuming the threat isn't that its going to make the PS5 suck, its just that exposing more people to the Xbox platform that would have never considered it before. They may end up liking the Xbox more because of GamePass. Hypothetical syllogism type stuff.
 
I’m beginning to really wonder about this increase in articles lately. The XSS is fine for what it is, but I don’t know about it being a threat to PS5 or even XSX. Also, from what I’ve heard, the new Bethesda games won’t probably make a difference until several years from now. I’ve heard some rumored release time frames that are frightening.
 
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This article is kind of funny (I hope it is intentional).

But from Sony's perspective (and any other console manufacturer for that matter) any secondary device that a user is gaming on is a threat to your revenue stream. Even if it is something as simple as the competitor had a better sale on game X than you did so buyer ABC bought the software for that platform instead. In this example especially, the user with the secondary XSS system might get GP and once they have that they probably won't buy any of the software (or the MTX or DLC that goes with it) included in GP from the PS store. They may also start diverting some of their time to this secondary platform, which acts a natural limiter on the time they are spending on the primary platform (and the money they are spending there).

This is why I think MS went the route they went down. Its extremely hard to win over PS fans but if are enticed to try gamepass for one or two games....and then see all the other third party game offerings on there... They are more likely to stay.

That would take revenue from Sony as you said. "why would I need to buy this game on Ps5 when I have it for free on gamepass".

I don't think it's a threat in one sense but it could potentially hit sonys revenues if many people think like that.
 
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